775 Three Thousand Great Ways, One Hundred Thousand Small Ways

Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, facing the old woman two meters away. With his hands on his knees, looking like a student in search of knowledge, he seemed very serious and earnest.

Upon seeing Zhang Ruochen's refined courteousness and his outstandingly elegant temperament, the old woman nodded and said, "Your cultivation has already reached the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm. It wouldn't take long for you to start perceiving the Holy Road. Now then, what exactly is the nature of the Holy Road?

"Some people say that the Holy Road is the process of continuous questioning, learning, and searching, all to broaden your knowledge, and, eventually, help you understand fully everything in this world, making your Spiritual Power reach transcended realms. Just like the Monks of Spiritual Power and the Monks of the Confucian Sect have done.

"Others say that the Holy Road is a set of rules written in the stars. For instance, as the sun shines on leaves, it leaves shadows on the ground. This is one rule. The flow of water from a high place to a low place is also a rule.

"When humans have perceived the first rule, they know that if you hide under a tree, you can relax in its cooling shade. When humans have perceived the second rule, they know that if you ride the currents down a stream, you can sail enormous distances in a day.

"However, these are only the most basic rules in nature. Any intelligent creature can easily perceive and learn these rules, use them to increase their ability to adapt to different environments, and ultimately accomplish incredible things.

"The rule of the Holy Road is more enigmatic and abstract. Normal people can never detect its existence. Only through constant learning and perceiving can monks understand it and use it to become Half-Saints and Saints.

"The Tao of the sword is one of the many kinds of the Holy Road, it represents the most acuminous side of the Holy Road.

"Of course, the Great Way of Nature, the Holy Road, and the Tao of the sword, even the mysterious Way of Time and Way of Space, are all actually just Heavenly Ways."

The old woman's lecture continued for nine days and nine nights. Not only did she cover the Tao of the sword and the Great Way of Nature, but she also gave insights on the Ways of Time and Space.

At her cultivation and age, her knowledge was naturally very broad and profound. She explained from the depths of the universe, down to the daily lives of mortal beings.

The old woman was like the embodiment of heaven and earth, worthy of being called omniscient.

Even though she was not a descendant of Time and Space, her understanding of time and space far exceeded that of Zhang Ruochen, up to levels he could only dream of attaining.

Listening to her explanations was like opening a completely new door to Zhang Ruochen. It was as if wisdom and enlightenment had suddenly filled his body, making his heart and vision much more clear and translucent.

When Zhang Ruochen absorbed Qi Hong's knowledge of the Tao of the sword and the Holy Road at first, he was a bit confused, and could not understand a lot of things. Now, he felt as if he could go as far as to fully master and apply his learnings.

"SWOOSH!"

A light column rushed out from the top of Zhang Ruochen's head.

In the next instant, his Martial Soul came out of the light column and assembled a human form that looked exactly like him.

At the same time, the first rule of Holy Road was continuously cohering, and finally formed a thin string of light that came together with the Martial Soul.

The second rule of Holy Road followed immediately, and then the third, all fusing non-stop, like the threads of a spider.

After countless hours, Zhang Ruochen 's Martial Soul was finally stable and formed a surprising total of 13 rules.

The old woman nodded and said, "Forming 13 rules of Holy Road at only the cultivation of the Eighth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm is pretty good."

Getting a "pretty good" from the old woman was already a very impressive appraisal.

Monks who have reached the Ninth Change in the Fish-dragon Realm can already push for the Half-Saint realm if they can form 12 rules of Holy Road.

The true God's favored sons, however, would not choose to breach the gap rashly even after forming 12 rules, but instead would go on with their studies and continue trying to form more.

Why do they do so?

The 12 rules of Holy Road are already one with the monk's Divine Soul. They become the monk's 12 ways of the Holy Road. Even if the Half-Saint perceives the 13th rule, it cannot merge with his Divine Soul.

This is due to the fixedness of the monk's Divine Soul once it reaches the Half-Saint realm. The Divine Soul becomes stable as it gains a complete form, but it also becomes firm and hard to change. Once this happens, any newly perceived rules can only be used as subsidiaries.

To become a Saint, the Half-Saint can now only try to improve the 12 rules he perceived before he reached his current realm, or choose one rule out of the 12 to practice and perfect.

The more rules a Divine Soul holds, the more powerful and well-rounded it becomes. Thus, going forward, it is very beneficial for a monk's practice to form as many rules as possible.

The old woman continued. "In this world, there are nine kinds of the 'Way of Ancient Times,' 72 kinds of 'Supreme Holy Road,' 3,000 kinds of 'Great Ways,' and 100,000 'Small Ways.'

"In the Fish-Dragon Realm, the stronger and more abundant the rules of the Holy Road in the Divine Soul, the higher the monk can achieve in the future.

"The 13 rules of Holy Road you just formed are all merely Small Ways. If you attempt to make a breakthrough to the Half-Saint realm right now, all your potential would be wasted."

It was clear that the old woman was warning Zhang Ruochen to avoid trying too hard and destroying himself.

Zhang Ruochen asked, "May I ask how to practice and form Great Ways, Supreme Holy Roads, and Ways of Ancient Times?"

The old woman appeared very patient. She said, "Small Ways are easy to form, but Great Ways are difficult to construct. If a Supreme Holy Road is completed, you will be matchless in this world.

"All of the 3,000 Great Ways are very abstruse. Only geniuses with extremely high comprehension can get a chance to practice and form a Great Way of the rule of the Holy Road in the Fish-Dragon Realm.

"The 72 Supreme Holy Roads are even more powerful. You will be well off your whole life just by perceiving one Supreme Holy Road.

"For example, the Tao of the sword is one of the 72 Supreme Holy Roads.

"Monks in the Fish-Dragon Realm can only have the chance to form the rule of the Tao of the sword when they complete the tenth level of Sword One.

Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood, and said, "So that's why monks who complete the tenth level of Sword One in the Fish-Dragon Realm can usually become sword saints. It's because they forged the Tao of the sword into their Martial Souls. This single condition is not anything that other sword practitioners can achieve."

The Tao of the sword is one of the 72 Supreme Holy Roads. Anyone who can merge it with their Martial Souls is extraordinary. Their achievements in the future would undoubtedly be astonishing.

The old woman said, "In the Fish-Dragon Realm, perceiving the rule of the Tao of the sword and merging it with your Martial Soul is only the beginning. You have to continue to practice constantly, perfect the rule, and use some help from the subsidiary Small Ways and Great Ways to have a shot at becoming a sword saint. From the Way of Keenness, the Way of Swiftness, to the Way of Speed, none of the Small Ways can be overlooked.

"Although the Way of Keenness is just a Small Way, if you practice it to its fullest, there is nothing saying you cannot become a sword saint. However, no matter how in-depth your understanding of the Tao of the sword is when you are at the Half-Saint realm, it would still be extremely hard for you to become a sword saint using the Way of Keenness as a basis.

"In essence, all Great Ways need the Small Ways' assistance. Therefore, the more rules of the Holy Road the monks at the Fish-Dragon Realm perceives, the more benefits they will get in the future."

Zhang Ruochen nodded, finally gaining a decent understanding of Small Ways, Great Ways, and Supreme Holy Roads. He asked again, "Then do Time and Space belong to the Supreme Holy Roads as well?"

The old woman shook her head and said, "Time and Space are two of the nine Ways of Ancient Times. There are seven other Ways of Ancient Times: Truth, Morality, Origin, Light, Darkness, Fate, and Nihility.

"Time and Space form the world we live in.

"Truth and Morality give birth to a myriad of knowledge and spread it around the world.

"Light and Darkness create life and death, good and evil.

"Of course, out of the nine great 'Ways of Ancient Times,' 'Fate' and 'Nihility' are the strongest. Fate can determine everything, while Nihility can destroy everything."

The old woman's words were very abstruse and perplexing—they went beyond Martial Arts, and perhaps even the Holy Road. Even with Zhang Ruochen's current realm, it was still difficult to understand.

The old woman seemed to have perceived his thoughts. She said, "Actually, it is normal not to understand what I am saying at your current level. I am only informing you of the nine great Ways of Ancient Times because you possess the Sacred Mark of Time and Space and have a good chance to form the rule of time and space.

"In case you do succeed, there is a chance that you could become the third master of time and space that Kunlun's Field has ever had. However, it will be a very difficult path for you to take."

With a solemn expression on his face and determined eyes, Zhang Ruochen said, "No matter how hard it is, I will do my best in pursuit of the Way of Ancient Times."

Yet, the old woman shook her head and said, "Since the ancient past, only a few have perceived any of the Ways of Ancient Times while in the Fish-Dragon Realm. Every single one of them was an extraordinary genius.

"I am not telling you that perceiving the Time and Space Way of Ancient Times is the only way to prove your talent, but I am informing you that you need to learn when to give up. If you practice the Tao of the sword to its fullest, you can still become a very successful monk.

"Time and space can, in turn, can be two subsidiary ways to support you. It will not be too late to perceive them slowly when you reach the Saint realm. By doing that, your Tao of the sword will get even more powerful."

Clearly, the old woman did not believe that Zhang Ruochen can perceive the rules of time and space in the Fish-Dragon Realm.

That was why she was worried that he could get stuck in the Fish-Dragon Realm and never reach the Half-Saint realm if he insisted on perceiving the two rules.

Although Zhang Ruochen had different views, he did not counter her ideas. He took the old woman's advice carefully and said, "I will remember what you have told me. If in the future I cannot perceive the rules of time and space, then I will not force myself."